09-22-2010, 09:28 AM
Hiltzik is right, but he's missing the point. The iPod is and always was a convenience device. It's not an audiophile machine. The DAC is a good one (again, for a portable device) but once you start compressing the signal you're going to lose quality. Still, 320kbps AAC preserves probably 95%+ of lossless quality, and to even get close to achieving that you're going to need studio monitor headphones anyway.
Regardless, his point is moot. By the time the 160GB classic is no longer available on the market ("[audiophiles are] afraid the time is not too distant when the Classic will be discontinued, with the result that they'll be back to the bad old days of choosing what music to load onto their Touches (and inevitably choosing wrong). ") flash memory will have caught up. The iPod touch is at 64GB right now and started at 16GB three years ago. The gap is rapidly closing, and will only close faster with iPad and the app store. Those two things mean that iOS storage capacity is used not only for music but for profit rich applications which are Apple's license to print money. In another year I would not be surprised to see a 128GB iPod Touch. In two more years I bet it'll crack 200Gb.
Regardless, his point is moot. By the time the 160GB classic is no longer available on the market ("[audiophiles are] afraid the time is not too distant when the Classic will be discontinued, with the result that they'll be back to the bad old days of choosing what music to load onto their Touches (and inevitably choosing wrong). ") flash memory will have caught up. The iPod touch is at 64GB right now and started at 16GB three years ago. The gap is rapidly closing, and will only close faster with iPad and the app store. Those two things mean that iOS storage capacity is used not only for music but for profit rich applications which are Apple's license to print money. In another year I would not be surprised to see a 128GB iPod Touch. In two more years I bet it'll crack 200Gb.